Muddled Senses
by WolfKomoki
Summary: As long as Shaun can remember, he's had muddled senses. He doesn't understand why neurotypicals don't experience the things that he does. What he does know is that he's Autistic.


**The Good Doctor is owned by ABC.  
Before you comment on this fic stating that "You obviously have no idea what Autism is like. That's not what Autistic people are like at all".  
You should know that  
1\. I'm Autistic.  
2\. Autism is a spectrum. No two people are alike.  
3\. This is based on my experiences alone.**

Shaun slowly opened his eyes to the sun blaring through his window. Wincing, Shaun squints against the light, slowly getting dressed for the day.

Slowly, he grabs his work bag, and that's when he walks outside. As he walks, he hears the cars going by, people talking, people walking, dogs barking, cats meowing, birds tweeting, people laughing, people yelling, the sound of heels clacking against the road, tires squealing against the road, children playing, children laughing. He can smell cigarette smoke in the distance, which makes him want to start coughing.

Eventually, he gets on public transport, taking the bus to the St. Bonaventure Hospital. Soon enough, he gets to his stop, and that's when he walks in the hospital. When Shaun walks inside, he's blinded by the fluorescent lights. The loud hum from the lights was irritating, but he couldn't put his hands over his ears, he doesn't want the odd stares that he'd get from people. The sounds in the room are muddled: between people talking, people walking, shoes, walking against the hard tile, the phones ringing, people clacking on a keyboard, printers, printing, the clock ticking, the cars outside, the sirens outside, people talking, people walking, dogs barking outside, cats meowing outside, birds tweeting, people laughing, people yelling, the sound of heels clacking against the floor, the beeping of the hospital equipment.

Eventually he can't take it anymore, and he slinks down to the floor, in a fully blown shut down. As Shaun sits on the floor, everything slowly quiets down, and his mind slowly shuts down. It was about ten minutes later when he's found by Claire.

"Shaun? What are you doing on the floor?" She asks. Shaun doesn't respond.

"Shaun?" She asks, trying to get a response out of him. Still, Shaun doesn't respond. Slowly, she sits next to him.

"Hey, let's get up from the floor, okay?" Claire pleads. Shaun doesn't respond.

"Shaun?" She calls, still trying to get a response. When that doesn't work, she slowly gets up. As she walks around the building, eventually she runs into Melendez.

"Morning Claire. Where's Murphy?" He asks.

"I found him, but I… I don't know what's wrong with him." She states.

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"Just… follow me." She sighs, and that's when she leads him to Shaun. Melendez stares at Shaun in confusion. Why the hell was he sitting on the floor?

"Murphy." He calls, trying to get a response. Shaun doesn't respond.

"Murphy!" He calls, louder this time. Still, Shaun doesn't respond.

"What the hell? Murphy!" Melendez calls, still trying to get a response. Still, Shaun doesn't respond. Frowning, he sits next to him, and starts testing his pupil response.

"Okay, his pupils are responding, but why isn't he responding to external stimuli?" He thinks out loud. It doesn't make sense for him to be catatonic. Had he suffered some sort of accident?

"Come on Murphy, snap out of it!" He calls, snapping his fingers in his face. When that didn't work, he gets up, sighing.

"We need to talk to Dr. Glassman. He'll know what to do." Claire insists, and that's when she and Melendez goes to find him. When they find him, he's sitting down for his breakfast.

"Morning." Glassman greets.

"Dr. Glassman, something's wrong with Murphy." Melendez states.

"Melendez, we've talked about this. You're going to have to start getting along with Shaun." Glassman sighs.

"No, that's… that's not what I mean." Melendez states.

"Just… follow us, please?" Claire pleads.

"After I finish my food." Glassman insists. It was about ten minutes later when he finishes his food. After that, he follows Claire and Melendez to where Shaun is. When he gets there, he sees Shaun sitting on the floor.

"What are you doing on the floor?" He asks. Shaun doesn't respond. Glassman recognizes the signs of a shut down immediately. Slowly, he sits behind Shaun on the floor, slowly rubbing his back.

"It's okay… everything is okay. You're alright." He speaks, trying to help Shaun through his shut down.

"Glassman! What the hell is going on?" Melendez demands.

"Lower your voice." Glassman scolds.

"Sorry. What's wrong with him?" Melendez whispers.

"He's having a shut down." Glassman answers.

"What does that… what does that mean?" Claire asks with confusion.

"Do you two know what Sensory Overload is?" Glassman asks.

"No." Claire answers.

"Okay, so, imagine having all your senses on overdrive. Shaun's senses are all muddled into one. Imagine walking into a room and not being able to see because the florescent lights are blinding you. Imagine hearing every single noise in the world at once, and being unable to filter it out." He starts to explain.

"I still don't understand." Melendez informs.

"One possible reaction to Sensory Overload is a Meltdown. Shaun is having sensory overload. He wants to scream so he does. He doesn't have any control over his body, and he feels overwhelmed. Sometimes he feels like destroying something. Other times he feels angry. He may even cry or lash out. Though it's more common in children, adults can get them too." Glassman continues to explain.

"But, that wasn't anything like what we saw. He was practically catatonic." Melendez says with confusion.

"That's another reaction to Sensory Overload. What you witnessed was a shut down." Glassman explains.

"What do we do?" Claire asks.

"The only thing we can do: wait for him to come out of it." Glassman sighs. Melendez and Claire get to work after that, and Glassman continues to sit with Shaun. Shaun's legs feel like jelly. His hands don't want to move. He wants to scream, but he can't. He can't hear anything, so he can't communicate with anyone. He wants to speak, but he can't. He's trapped in his own body. It was about an hour later before Shaun's hearing slowly comes back. He still can't move, but at least he can hear what's going on now.

"Hey Shaun? I'd really like to get off this floor now. Is that okay?" Glassman asks. Shaun nods. Slowly, he gets up, and that's when he returns to work. It was a few minutes later when Claire walks over to Shaun.

"Hey Shaun? Why don't we get up from the floor now?" Claire asks, stretching out her hand. Slowly, Shaun grabs her hand, and that's when she pulls him up.

"You gonna be okay now?" She asks. Shaun nods.


End file.
